San Diego  The Sheriff’s Department is set to continue to patrol the streets of nine cities in the county, although concern for the rising cost of law enforcement services has renewed the call in one city to explore creating its own police force.

The Del Mar City Council approved a five-year sheriff’s contract last month, as have other cities in recent weeks, but is also considering hiring a consultant to see if the city can do it better and cheaper.

“As I and others started talking to people in the community, they are not happy with the service,” said Jim Benedict, a resident and member of the city’s Finance Committee. “That became bigger and bigger and bigger, to a point where we want to look at our options.”

The tab for sheriff’s services in Del Mar jumped 82 percent over the past decade, from $933,000 in fiscal 2003 to $1.7 million last year, although changes in service may account for some of the increased costs.

Benedict said the “exploding” cost on sheriff’s contracts is growing less feasible for the city. The contract takes up about 20 percent of the city’s general fund.

Preliminary estimates put the annual cost of a separate police force at $1.5 million, with a $500,000 startup cost. That is compared to the sheriff’s contract, which will cost $1.8 million this year.

Benedict said a municipal police force would allow more flexibility, including more presence in the summer, when Del Mar’s beaches, racetrack and fairgrounds become a huge draw.

The Sheriff’s Department has contracts to provide law enforcement to nine cities — Del Mar, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Imperial Beach, Lemon Grove, Poway, San Marcos, Santee and Vista. Combined, the contracts total $81.1 million this year and are expected to rise by 5.5 percent next year to $85.7 million.

Keith Spears, who manages the contracts for the department, said the cost for law enforcement services has typically gone up an average of about 4 percent each year.

The biggest cost driver is deputies’ wages, which are set to change this summer when their pay and benefits will be renegotiated. Deputies are also set to get 1 percent raises next year. A deputy’s base annual salary can range from roughly $51,200 to $80,300.

The varying costs of fuel, equipment and vehicles also factor in. And as a large organization, the Sheriff’s Department can typically buy items cheaper, Spears said.

“I don’t think anything is driving the cost any higher now than before,” he said.

What cities grapple with instead are the rising costs of law enforcement versus their city budgets and revenue, which aren’t always increasing at a similar pace.

“That’s an apples to oranges comparison,” Spears said.

The negotiations over the latest five-year contract took longer than usual, with a committee from five cities and sheriff’s representatives taking 13 months to achieve a deal.

The terms were reached in October, and then took the past several months to get approved by each city council and the county Board of Supervisors. The last city, Encinitas, will vote on the contract Wednesday.

The final product that emerged from negotiations represents a so-called “menu” of services the Sheriff’s Department offers at prices agreed upon by all parties. For example, a patrol deputy will cost a city $142,214 in annual salary and benefits, and a sergeant will be $181,575. A standard patrol vehicle goes for $21,422 a year, and motorcycle $11,375, including fuel.

Cities can customize their service levels to fit their needs, basically ordering a la carte off the menu.

Cities can change their service level at any time with a 30-day notice, taking away a traffic unit, for instance, or adding two detectives. In fact, most cities do make some kind of adjustment each year, Spears said.

The entire contract can also be canceled with a one-year notice — a contingency that Del Mar took special notice of.

None of the cities, except for Imperial Beach, has ever had its own police department, instead opting since incorporation to worked with the Sheriff’s Department. Imperial Beach had its own department until 1983.